8 tips
for getting your kids up for Fajr during the school yearBy Soundvision.com

Amr ibn Shuaib
related on his father’s authority that his grandfather reported Rasulullah
(peace and blessings be upon him) as saying: “Instruct your children to
observe Salat (the five daily prayers) when they are seven years old, and
spank them if they do not observe it when they are ten years old and then
do not let them sleep in one bed.” (Abu Daud).

Back-to-school
means more than just new school supplies and more challenging homework
for kids: it also indicates a slip back into the routine of getting up
early to catch the bus, and if possible, some breakfast before rushing
out.

It’s hard enough
getting the kids out of bed to get to school on time. But do you ever wonder
how some parents get their kids to pray Fajr during school days and get
to school on time?

Well, it’s
not so impossible for some parents. Just ask Jamilah Kolocotronis, the
mother of six boys ages 4 to 17, all of whom pray Fajr prayer.

“Four [of them]
are over the age of ten so they have to make Salat,” she explains matter-of-factly.
Kolocotronis is also a Social Studies teacher at the Islamic School of
Kansas City in Missouri.

Another parent
whose kids regularly pray Fajr is Abdalla Idris Ali. He is currently a
member of the Islamic Society of North America’s (ISNA) Majlis Shura, which
debates Islamic issues and establishes policy for the organization.

They have suggested
eight ways parents can help their kids wake up for Fajr this school year
(and beyond!).

Tip #1:
Get them to go to bed early

Never underestimate
the power of a good night’s rest. This is crucial in ensuring Jehan or
Amin are not just attentive in class, but that they remain healthy as well.

Parents can
do more in this area than just setting a specific bedtime and enforcing
it. They must set the example by also going to bed early and not wasting
time on late night television or just lounging around. This way, the whole
family is in synch and has a regular schedule.

“We have to
help our kids set up their schedules,” notes Kolocotronis.

Tip #2:
Avoid too much junk food

What are childhood
and adolescence without chips, candy bars and soft drinks?

These types
of food are high in sugar and tend to make people hyper and lazy, kids
included.

Reducing junk
food intake, or limiting it to weekends, as well as increasing kids’ consumption
of fruits and vegetables will ensure a healthier diet, and less sluggishness.

Even the time
kids consume junk foods should be limited to between Zuhr and Maghrib,
as opposed to early in the morning or late at night, before bed, Kolocotronis
suggests.

Tip #3:
Get them all alarm clocks

In most cases
getting to bed on time and reducing junk food intake should be enough to
ensure your kids wake up for Fajr. But there are always those of us, and
this goes for kids as well, who need a virtual explosion outside our bedroom
windows to wake us up (this writer included).

In this case,
the alarm clock becomes your ally.

If you’re stumped
for Eid gift ideas for your kids, buy them a nice alarm clock with a beautiful
Adhan. Not only will this be an attractive item to decorate their shelf
or desk table with, but they will also wake up hearing the call to prayer.

Most of these
types of clocks are available in North America at Muslim stores. If there
is no such store or you can’t find it in your community, order it, or bring
it back as a gift for Aminah or Saeed when you go for Hajj, Umra, or to
a Muslim country where these clocks are sold.

If this is
also not possible, get any alarm clock. The louder the better.

And don’t just
think you have to use only one alarm clock. If waking up is a very severe
hardship in your household, buy and set a series of alarm clocks at various
places in the home.

Idris Ali describes
how one Muslim brother who has a very hard time waking up has established
a system using two alarm clocks. One is set in the hallway, away from his
bedroom, and a second one in the bathroom.

That way, even
if he shuts off the alarm in the hallway and goes back to bed, he will
have to get up for the one in the bathroom. At that point, there really
is no point in turning back.

Tip #4:
Assign one of the kids the responsibility for waking everyone up

This should
instill enough responsibility in any person’s heart to force them to wake
up for Fajr. It reminds them that if they oversleep and miss Fajr, mom,
dad, and all brothers and/or sisters will be missing it too, all because
of him or her.

“They take
it as a responsibility and a challenge,” explains Idris Ali of the wisdom
of this method to get kids to wake up for Fajr.

Using this
method also stresses the importance of Fajr prayer, and creates a sense
of dutifulness and responsibility. The kids should take turns doing this,
but the older ones should be made responsible for getting the younger ones
up.

Assigning a
responsibility can also be extended to calling the Adhan in the house.
This means if you give Ameer or Hassan the responsibility for calling the
Adhan on different days, they will also be forced to get up, while their
older brother Mahmud may be responsible for waking everyone up.

Tip #5:
Attach getting up for Fajr with a certain privilege

That means,
for instance, that if Jameel misses Fajr on Thursday morning, he will not
be allowed to go over to his friend’s place later that evening.

Doing this
emphasizes that praying Fajr is not just something that is “good to do”.
It is something all Muslims have to do upon reaching a certain age, and
there are consequences for not doing so.

Tip #6:
Avoid rewarding them for praying Fajr

Idris Ali does
not recommend rewarding kids for getting up and praying Fajr, because it
is possible they will stop doing so once the reward is given.

“We want to
move from expecting only a reward to loving Allah,” he notes.

Emphasizing
the need to be grateful to Allah for all of things He has blessed us with
should also stress the importance of prayer, especially Fajr, which is
often hard to get up for.

Tip #7:
For teenagers: make sure they have friends who pray Fajr

While it is
usually easier to encourage young kids to pray Fajr (which may explain
the wisdom of the Hadith at the beginning of this article), it’s harder
to get teenagers not used to praying to do so.

In this case,
it’s important that they develop friendships with other practicing Muslims
their age. This will have a positive effect on them, and they are more
likely to listen to their peers and follow their example at this age, than
their parents.

You can start
doing this by widening your circle of family friends to include practicing
Muslim families who have (also practicing) kids your son or daughter’s
age.

As well, invest
in sending your kids to Muslim youth camps regularly, where the habit of
praying Fajr is practiced. A one-week camp may be better in this regard,
since it gives more time to develop the habit of praying in general, as
opposed to a two or three-day camp.

Tip #8:
Establish a Fajr wake up calling system

This can work
for adults too, but especially teenagers. Get your kids to call up their
friends to wake them up for Fajr and vice-versa. This will serve as positive
peer pressure, and will feel less like mom or dad are nagging them to get
up.

They can also
drive to the local Masjid if they have their driver’s license, with their
friends, making this a way to pray and meet friends, and in turn increase
brotherhood.

Girls can also
call each other to wake up for Fajr. They can do Jamaah prayer at home
with the women of the household if they are not able to go to the Masjid.

Praying Fajr
is difficult for many Muslims, of all ages. But as Idris Ali notes, a person
who can wake up and pray Fajr can perform the other prayers easily. Let’s
encourage this habit in our kids this school year.